COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio State coach Ryan Day has tried to make one thing clear: This season’s team is the 2025 Buckeyes, not the defending national champions.

“The team we have currently wants to leave their own legacy. They’ve made that clear,” Day said. “We’ve said before that we’re not defending national champions because we’re not defending anything. They can’t take the trophy away, but we’re looking to add to it and winning a championship with this team.”

The third-ranked Buckeyes go into their Aug. 30 titanic matchup against No. 1 Texas a much different squad than the one that beat Notre Dame to win the program's eighth national championship. They had 14 players selected in the NFL draft in April, tied for the most in program history and one off the all-time mark held by Georgia in 2

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